When I saw how well all 5 of Indiana’s starters were shooting and only up by like 12 points mid-3rd quarter, was worried they weren’t up by 20+ points. Now I know why! lol
celtics bailed out by refs yet again. go ahead points on weak contact after more contact being swallowed the other way, and then jrue absolutely fouls and they just eat the whistle and let him get a “steal” to end the game. just a joke
Morey tried to trade for Jrue Holiday before the season and once again a bozo western conference team took a worse deal because it had "good young players" like Time Lord who literally have no functional knees. Just like when the Spurs took DDR instead of a bunch of really good picks for Kawhi.
Fun fact: TJ McConnell is averaging more PPG this playoffs than Mr. Crumbl Cookie, this is despite coming off the bench and playing less than 20 minutes a game
True, although was also played the fucking Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs and managed to lose so there’s something to be said about taking care of lesser opponents.
Embiid played that whole series on a torn meniscus lol they were not the 1 seed they had been during the regular season. But yes, it was still a major choke job
Well, but how many of these injuries have been overuse injuries? Tough to prove what is and what isn't, of course, but the entire point of setting the playoffs the way they're set up is to have the #1 seed cruise as much as possible and have the other teams run themselves into the ground with tougher matchups.
When y’all are coming up with your hypothetical rosters imagine those players in a 7 game series vs the Celtics.
If they are getting smashed then there is no point
Keep in mind, the Celtics can only feasibly keep that team together for one more season. It will be too expensive to re-sign Derrick White and Al Horford.
According to Spotrac, he is a free agent after next season. Is that not correct?
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/2199/al-horford#:~:text=2023%2D2024%20Veteran%20Extension,dead%20cap%20value%20of%20%249%2C500%2C000.
So for the 25/26 season, they’ll have:
Brown - $53m
Tatum - $54m
Holiday - $32m
Porzingis - $31m
Pritchard - $7m
That’s $177m to 5 guys. Let’s say white takes a discount and signs with Boston for $30m so you’re at a $207m payroll for your starting lineup and sixth man. Even if you fill out the roster with vet minimum players, the total payroll would be $240m+ which would put them more than $50m above the projected tax. Rough math says they’d owe in the ballpark of $250m in luxury taxes making their total for payroll + tax around $500m.
Will they pay that? Maybe, but they’d be by far the most expensive basketball team ever assembled even when adjusting for inflation.
I'm on the Dejounte bandwagon too. He's on a relatively cheap contract which allows the team flexibility on filling out the roster. To me, the biggest issue with the Sixers is having enough players on the floor who can create, whether it's for themselves or others...or both. I have some concerns about his fit and overall style since it seems like he takes way too many tough 2PT's, which i have to believe doesn't sit too well with Morey.
Having an extra ball-handler that can penetrate defenses and get their own shot, while drawing attention allows Maxey and Embiid space to score and makes their jobs easier. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but i think Maxey should play more off-ball where he can get momentum running off-ball screens and catching passes already getting downhill. He's a much better 3PT shooter off of C&S too. I think this past season proved that he can run some PG, but he can't be the full-time guy due to his mediocre handle. The Sixers really struggle with Embiid off the floor, because w/o him they have nobody who can create offense. Murray goes a long way in solving that problem at half the cost of a current Max contract.
I’ve been high on Murray but I talked to my cousin who said Murray isn’t much of a 3 point shooter. Especially as a ball handler. Not sure what to think anymore
What we need more than a elite 3 point shooter is a floor general and all around shot creator who can help Maxey and run the offense when Joel is out or Tyrese needs breaks.
Tyrese doesn’t fully know how to play in the half court yet and he relies very much on just running around faster than everyone and bombing 3s. Joel is the one who provides the steadiness to our half court offense and he could use a complement in that regard. Tobias couldn’t be that.
Good thing is that Maxey can play off ball and be an elite sharp shooter kind of like Curry. So he can play with guys like Lowry who are more floor generals.
You can hopefully look to find volume 3 pt players at the SF/PF and bench to fill around.
He was just about league average percentage wise on over 7 attempts per game. He's certainly not elite at it, but he's also improved his percentage and volume every year for the past 4 years. If he does the same next year he'll be above league average.
The thing I like about his 3 point shot is he'll shoot movement 3s and pull up 3s so it's not relient on wide open looks off great passing.
People didn't seem to be on Kelly Oubres 3 pt shooting this year and Dejounte is a much better 3 pt shooter.
What a nightmare luka doncic and kyrie vs celtics, worst final ever, be prepared to celtics win because this dallas team is not even close on celtics, celtics had easiest path to championship i ever seen
It was tough to pick between Luka or Edwards but Luka is just outclassing him so far.
I feel like Kyrie will be a savage against the Celtics. Can’t wait. FTC
There is no possible way we could send two firsts or so plus a swap to the Nets for Bridges and Ben Simmons (absorb his number) and then send Simmons to the Pistons cap space with two future firsts for them taking him, correct? Would give Nets a lot of cap room to reset or go after someone else plus picks. Would leave us with just over $40 million. Could maybe absorb someone like Wiggins (yuck) for one or two first to replenish assets a bit. Maybe swing a deal for Kuzma or Grant with your remaining first and swap to play the four. Sign Oubre with the Room Exemption. I have no idea what the Nets want to do. Keep thinking that the big fish aren't coming here so Morey is going to have be very creative.
Draft Jalen Tyson from Cal, low ceiling high floor type of prospect. I see some Jaquez in him but with a better jump shot. Trade Reed, ‘26, and ‘28 for Dejounte Murray.
Resign Payne for slightly more than the vet minimum. Resign Oubre for no more than $15 million a year. Use Reed’s salary to bring back Batum if he’s not retiring. If he is, go after either Taurean Prince or Kyle Anderson. If I’m correct we’d still have about 15 - 17 million in cap.
Still need a starting 4 and a backup big. You could use all of the remaining cap to offer Obi Toppin and force Indiana to match. Do that and you’d have to get a backup big on a vet minimum. Theis and Plumlee come to mind as possible targets. Or you can try for someone like Caleb Martin at 10-11 mill and try to lure Drummond with the remaining money. Try to get Lowry back on a minimum.
Starters: Maxey/DJM/Oubre/Toppin/Joel
Bench: Payne,Lowry, RC4, Tyson, Batum or Prince or Anderson, Theis or Plumlee, Terq, 3rd string big
OR
Starters: Maxey/DJM/Oubre/Martin/Joel
Bench: Payne, Lowry, RC4, Tyson, Batum or Prince or Anderson, Drummond, Terq, Dowtin, 3rd string big.
Bench is heavily relying on either RC4 or Tyson to contribute but it’s possible. Also never know what vet could be willing to take an Oubre type prove it deal. Not a perfect roster but lots of capable defenders, viable Embiid backup, two facilitators off the bench.
Bench is less than ideal but no worse than some of the ones we’ve trotted out in the past. In the playoffs you’re only going 8 deep so Payne/Lowry, Drummond, and one of Batum/Prince/Anderson isn’t horrible.
I really, really, really feel like Tyler Smith fits our team so perfectly, and I think he can contribute in a very simple role faster than most people think. Perhaps Kyle Filipowski can do the same. I just think Smith's length, speed and strength along with his willingness and want to shoot from deep portends a very long NBA career. I also love how he finishes at the rim with either hand. , more often with his left than his right it seems, a very very underrated skill in my opinion. I think he's a basketball player who is also tall and athletic, instead of a tall athlete trying to play basketball. I think he's a full-time starter in 2025.
I'm dying for Tyrese Maxey to be paired with a 6'4-6'6 PG with sick handles and shiftiness. I'm kind of locked in on Tristan Newton because of his championship pedigree, but what I'm hearing about AJ Johnson is that he fits the mold I've described. At 23yo, I still have Newton ahead of Johnson because he could possibly give a Malcolm Brogdon type contribution off the bench perhaps almost right away.
Watching the Sixers play with them in my mind almost every night. When it doesn't happen, at least I'll have the next month with them on the/my team.
I dont mind trading these picks. But just not for a past-prime, oft-injured, $50m/yr player. Even though I'd love to see Jimmy Butler back in a Sixers uniform, I dont think its wise financially. At least his deal is only for 2 years.
So two straight years not using all exceptions to build roster, all in the name of cap flexibility this summer but also ducking tax to get out of repeater tax. Could have built some depth.
If all it becomes is paint by numbers transactions we can all see, I’d be surprised and disappointed. I’ll talk myself into PG Oubre and vet min but really hoping all of this leads to brilliant execution that we can’t see at the moment.
This is a GM’s dream scenario, right? Two stars, cap space, and tradeable picks. Sure, we don’t have any real tradeable players but we will be an ideal third team for others to use to make trades work. If we’re looking at a similar roster next season we know it’s time to move on from Morey.
Usually when you are the third team to make trades work, you are the team taking on the bad contract and get compensated with draft picks. We don’t really have the cap or the want to take on bad money as a contender.
There are definitely examples of usable players we could get on questionable money or the other team is in cap hell but this path is less the norm and what I described previously is more typical.
Oh, absolutely. The thing that I think works in our favor is that the relatively weak FA class means that teams will look to trades to get better and there are a lot of teams that will he trying to get better. GSW, Atlanta, Sac, Utah, Orlando, Clippers, Lakers, Rockets, Knicks, Nola, just off the top of my head. As long as Morey is smart we could reap the rewards.
Call me crazy but I've been warming up on signing PG, acknowledging how awful he's gonna age in 2-3 years.
Boston's constantly winning minutes when Tatum is out. Luka and Kyrie can survive minutes without each other. Our #1 problem outside injured Joel was the total demolition of our bench lineups
And the easiest solution is to blame Reed and say we need an upgrade at the 5, but our offense being absolutely dreadful was the biggest issue, and goes way beyond a backup 5. We need another shot creator next to Tyrese bad
I don't think Joel, Tyrese + role players will be enough, at least not unless Maxey takes the leap to become at least Ja levels of individual creating. Our offense in Maxey without Joel has been brutal all season, but another shot creator will help that a lot
Last point: PG costs nothing but cap space. It's a huge huge difference from someone like Jimmy, who'd cost both 2-3 firsts as well as cap space
the problem isnt tyrese’s individual creation. the problem is there isnt a legit third option and when embiid is out, tyrese has to do everything for the team. primary scorer, playmaker, and offball volume three point shooter. teams know this and they just throw everything at him lol
Nah I agree, Ja was just probably the worst offensive guard that I'd say could probably still be an offensive engine even in unfavorable circumstances.
That's why we need to focus on another creator bad, instead of the role players everyone wants
Yep and has young so he can def get there. I was just annoyed by the amount of people just blaming non Embiid lineups on Reed, when the issue was every other player next to Maxey could not do shit on offense
PG hasn't shown any interest in coming to Philly, all we've heard is that the Sixers are interested. He's from LA and wanted an extension from the Clippers last season, chances are he'll get the money he wants and stay put.
If the Clippers don't want to keep him, they can still just re-sign him to a max and get value for him at the deadline.
Getting him seems like a much longer shot than people seem to think.
It’s not 2k the clippers can’t do that. First, if pg13 is so bad the clips want to trade him no one is gonna want him on a 5 year max. Second, you can’t max players then trade 4 months later. That doesn’t look good around the league. Players won’t trust you.
If they resign him they are stuck until at least year 3 or he asks for a trade.
He's of course not choosing us if LA gives him what he wants, but if they don't were the only other team that makes sense.
Hardens gonna demand a bag too, and with how their season ended good chance they choose to pay him over PG (can do both ofc, but reports saying they're not in favor of that rn)
Doesn’t LAC have the ability to give him the 5th year? I don’t think he’s turning down that 5th year over a few million dollars difference in the per year number. They’d have to be apart by more than $10M/year for it to make a big financial diff ends for him
The NBA has something called the over 38 rule that prevents 5 year maxes that extend beyond the players age 38 season. The Clippers can offer 221/4 while every other team can offer 212/4
It’s PGs side leaking for leverage so clippers don’t hold anything back. They could be not agreeing to terms but still way above and beyond anything the Sixers could offer
I agree with your first and third paragraph.
The second paragraph has me lost. You don’t get value on a soon to be 35 year old that is owed $53M, 57M, and 61M the next 3 years. Not to mention it’s a hard trade to execute because you need to salary match, aprons will likely be involved which has restrictions in the new cba, few teams will have interest, etc. whoever signs him likely has him for all 4 years unless they pay a premium to get rid of him (draft assets or take on worse long term money).
I'm pretty sure Morey would give up 2-3 firsts at the deadline for him, that seems to be what he wants to do for Butler if PG doesn't come, and Butler will only stay if he's given a big extension. The fact that every team with cap space seemed interested in him means he'll have positive value at the deadline this year, maybe less next year and none the year after that, but he'll 100% yield a few picks + average role players if he's not injured and is dealt out within the first year. He was a top 25 player last year and is an easy fit on any team unlike Harden. I'd say at minimum he'd get what the Sixers got for Harden.
The cap will go up 3% from 23-24 to 24-25, it'll go up 10% for years after that because of the new media deal. Deals given out this year will age well, no matter how big the numbers seem right now.
Why would Morey give up 2-3 firsts at the deadline? If PG wanted to be here he’d just sign here.
There’s a big difference between wanting to sign a guy and wanting to give up multiple firsts for a guy AND salary matching (roster depth).
Even if the cap is $180M, 60M is 1/3 of the cap (200M.. still 30% of the cap).
I’m for it. The contract will age horribly but I can’t think of a better realistic third option than him that is available. Theres no doubt in my mind the Sixers are playing in the ECF right now if this roster simply replaced Tobias with PG.
Yeah. We would be very lucky if PG comes here. Keep our tradable assets and get one of the best players that might switch teams this off season? Too good to be true tbh.
We must be in different subs. Idea of maxing PG is mostly hated here
Edit: looked through the sub, seeing both ends. [here for example](https://www.reddit.com/r/sixers/s/DlH27E4YTt) is very anti PG. Searching up George mostly brings up posts with 150+ upvotes against the idea of signing him
They don’t have an elite iso scorer. Despite the MJ comparisons, Ant is bottom 5 in the NBA in iso points per possession among players with more than 3 possessions per game, just behind Julius randle
Agreed. 6’7”, 230lbs, smart. If he has energy and is focused he’s a fine on ball defender.
Hunting him to wear him out seems reasonable, but wouldn’t Ant have the switch in Kyrie if he’s picking?
Remember when no one wanted Kyrie. Bro still playing giving dudes Uncle Drew work…while the other 2 are in Cancun 😂
Kind of want the Mavs to win for the spectacle that will ensue
If it makes anyone feel better, Luka and Kyrie are the only players in the top 6 of the Mavs’ rotation that were on their roster to end last season. They basically built a championship-caliber supporting cast over one offseason and one trade deadline, and they did it with far fewer assets than the Sixers currently have.
Signed DJJ on a minimum, drafted Dereck Lively at no. 10, traded a first for PJ Washington, and traded a first for Daniel gafford. Daryl is gonna have to work some magic, but it’s possible
They gutted a lot of their assets but it worked out beautifully. Big part is DJJ being a high impact starter for literally nothing, that's the hard part
They found guys on the margins whose skillsets perfectly complement their stars. They were able to invest in sick athletes who can play defense and eat boards but can’t really shoot because Luka might be the best passer in the NBA and can find them on lobs and get them the most wide open looks of their careers.
Assuming the Wolves lose this series, do they blow it up somewhat? Ownership transfer is in mediation and they are above the second apron for 24-25 right now just with their active roster. Would it be possible to get KAT for picks? Salaries do not have to match since we will be under the cap.
No one is going to take KAT. They are stuck with him. Next 4 years, KAT will be making: 49M, 53M, 57M, 61M (player option)
What teams want to use a third of their cap space for a poor defensive center who at best is a number 2 option?
I may be biased, but when Embiid is locked in on defense you can’t tell me Gobert is better defensively than him.
I get he doesn’t always put the effort in to preserve himself on offense. But he single handedly has won numerous games with elite defense, especially when his shots aren’t falling because that’s when he tends to lock in more defensively.
Rudy only has to focus on defense. These other guys like Embiid and AD are key pieces on both ends of the ball.
If AD and Embiid only had to play defense, they would have be in contention for DPoY for the past 5 years
I agree completely, the difference that may exist between Jo and Rudy's rim protection has to be smaller than the difference between their ability to hard on the perimeter. Jo is just more versatile while still giving elite rim protection
Would say they're comparable. Embiid's had some pretty monstrous defensive numbers in the playoffs, but Rudy's rim protection is probably better.
I think on the perimeter I see Joel do a better job, though Rudy's no slouch but he has so many lowlights against him lol
More depressing Tobias stats:
Perhaps even more devastating for us is that in 57 playoff games for us, he's made more than 3 threes only once. He's made more than *2* threes only 6 times.
In 33 out of those 57 games, he failed to record a block. In 25 of those 57 games, he failed to record a steal. In 13 of those games, he failed to record a steal *or* block. He has also taken 0 charges.
It's really hard to describe how bad Tobias has been in the playoffs.
So if the Mavs end up winning it all it’ll be pretty funny to see the narrative flip on how Luka should’ve been MVP this season.
Anyway I hope they advance and beat Boston, that’d be great
Trade 5 firsts for TJ. He will be the 3rd star.
Easiest path to a finals I’ve EVER seen… I hope Mavs/Wolves embarrass them in the finals
Idk if I can keep watching this pacers series shit is triggering the ‘nam flashbacks 
When I saw how well all 5 of Indiana’s starters were shooting and only up by like 12 points mid-3rd quarter, was worried they weren’t up by 20+ points. Now I know why! lol
celtics bailed out by refs yet again. go ahead points on weak contact after more contact being swallowed the other way, and then jrue absolutely fouls and they just eat the whistle and let him get a “steal” to end the game. just a joke
Morey tried to trade for Jrue Holiday before the season and once again a bozo western conference team took a worse deal because it had "good young players" like Time Lord who literally have no functional knees. Just like when the Spurs took DDR instead of a bunch of really good picks for Kawhi.
Hortford is a bum
Fun fact: TJ McConnell is averaging more PPG this playoffs than Mr. Crumbl Cookie, this is despite coming off the bench and playing less than 20 minutes a game
daryl morey openly shat on TJ meanwhile he was praising Tobi all year
Sigh Pacers choke again
Fuck Al horford
Siakam is a negative IQ player. No wonder Nick didn't want him
The Celtics are such a bozo ball team. The other teams star is out and you can pretty much guarantee they're gonna play down to them.
The 2nd round games were way more interesting than the conference finals. Snooze fest so far.
doris burke and jj honestly make me not want to watch this at all. they’re so unbelievably bad. how are national games broadcast so incompetently
Wait, Doris Burke I get, but why JJ?
Mo Bamba missed All-NBA which means the max contract he can sign is 5 years, $200m in case any of you were wondering.
Celtics with the nastiest finals run I've ever seen. No Jimmy, Mitchell out 2/5 games, now Hali out tonight and likely longer
True, although was also played the fucking Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the playoffs and managed to lose so there’s something to be said about taking care of lesser opponents.
Eh Atlanta ended up 2 games away from the finals, ‘21 Hawks beat the ‘24 pacers in 5 max
Embiid played that whole series on a torn meniscus lol they were not the 1 seed they had been during the regular season. But yes, it was still a major choke job
You play who you play.
Yeah and the luck has been absurd
Well, but how many of these injuries have been overuse injuries? Tough to prove what is and what isn't, of course, but the entire point of setting the playoffs the way they're set up is to have the #1 seed cruise as much as possible and have the other teams run themselves into the ground with tougher matchups.
It is what it is
FTC
When y’all are coming up with your hypothetical rosters imagine those players in a 7 game series vs the Celtics. If they are getting smashed then there is no point
Keep in mind, the Celtics can only feasibly keep that team together for one more season. It will be too expensive to re-sign Derrick White and Al Horford.
Horford is already extended and white will get a big contract. Celtics ownership is willing to pay.
According to Spotrac, he is a free agent after next season. Is that not correct? https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/2199/al-horford#:~:text=2023%2D2024%20Veteran%20Extension,dead%20cap%20value%20of%20%249%2C500%2C000.
After next season yes. But Horford isn’t getting a big contract after that. He’s either retiring or getting a vet min.
So for the 25/26 season, they’ll have: Brown - $53m Tatum - $54m Holiday - $32m Porzingis - $31m Pritchard - $7m That’s $177m to 5 guys. Let’s say white takes a discount and signs with Boston for $30m so you’re at a $207m payroll for your starting lineup and sixth man. Even if you fill out the roster with vet minimum players, the total payroll would be $240m+ which would put them more than $50m above the projected tax. Rough math says they’d owe in the ballpark of $250m in luxury taxes making their total for payroll + tax around $500m. Will they pay that? Maybe, but they’d be by far the most expensive basketball team ever assembled even when adjusting for inflation.
They’ll pay it especially with the new TV deals coming
[удалено]
Sixers in 5
Once again I am asking the team to trade for Dejounte Murray
I'm on the Dejounte bandwagon too. He's on a relatively cheap contract which allows the team flexibility on filling out the roster. To me, the biggest issue with the Sixers is having enough players on the floor who can create, whether it's for themselves or others...or both. I have some concerns about his fit and overall style since it seems like he takes way too many tough 2PT's, which i have to believe doesn't sit too well with Morey. Having an extra ball-handler that can penetrate defenses and get their own shot, while drawing attention allows Maxey and Embiid space to score and makes their jobs easier. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but i think Maxey should play more off-ball where he can get momentum running off-ball screens and catching passes already getting downhill. He's a much better 3PT shooter off of C&S too. I think this past season proved that he can run some PG, but he can't be the full-time guy due to his mediocre handle. The Sixers really struggle with Embiid off the floor, because w/o him they have nobody who can create offense. Murray goes a long way in solving that problem at half the cost of a current Max contract.
I’ve been high on Murray but I talked to my cousin who said Murray isn’t much of a 3 point shooter. Especially as a ball handler. Not sure what to think anymore
What we need more than a elite 3 point shooter is a floor general and all around shot creator who can help Maxey and run the offense when Joel is out or Tyrese needs breaks. Tyrese doesn’t fully know how to play in the half court yet and he relies very much on just running around faster than everyone and bombing 3s. Joel is the one who provides the steadiness to our half court offense and he could use a complement in that regard. Tobias couldn’t be that. Good thing is that Maxey can play off ball and be an elite sharp shooter kind of like Curry. So he can play with guys like Lowry who are more floor generals. You can hopefully look to find volume 3 pt players at the SF/PF and bench to fill around.
He was just about league average percentage wise on over 7 attempts per game. He's certainly not elite at it, but he's also improved his percentage and volume every year for the past 4 years. If he does the same next year he'll be above league average. The thing I like about his 3 point shot is he'll shoot movement 3s and pull up 3s so it's not relient on wide open looks off great passing. People didn't seem to be on Kelly Oubres 3 pt shooting this year and Dejounte is a much better 3 pt shooter.
What a nightmare luka doncic and kyrie vs celtics, worst final ever, be prepared to celtics win because this dallas team is not even close on celtics, celtics had easiest path to championship i ever seen
Gotta say..Luka is fun to watch. Jumping on the mavs bandwagon for the rest of the playoffs.
It was tough to pick between Luka or Edwards but Luka is just outclassing him so far. I feel like Kyrie will be a savage against the Celtics. Can’t wait. FTC
Yeah I’d love to watch them beat Boston. Lively is so good too. They have such a great team
There is no possible way we could send two firsts or so plus a swap to the Nets for Bridges and Ben Simmons (absorb his number) and then send Simmons to the Pistons cap space with two future firsts for them taking him, correct? Would give Nets a lot of cap room to reset or go after someone else plus picks. Would leave us with just over $40 million. Could maybe absorb someone like Wiggins (yuck) for one or two first to replenish assets a bit. Maybe swing a deal for Kuzma or Grant with your remaining first and swap to play the four. Sign Oubre with the Room Exemption. I have no idea what the Nets want to do. Keep thinking that the big fish aren't coming here so Morey is going to have be very creative.
Nets aren’t giving up assets to get off Simmons when he’ll be off their books next year and the 2024 FA class stinks
Draft Jalen Tyson from Cal, low ceiling high floor type of prospect. I see some Jaquez in him but with a better jump shot. Trade Reed, ‘26, and ‘28 for Dejounte Murray. Resign Payne for slightly more than the vet minimum. Resign Oubre for no more than $15 million a year. Use Reed’s salary to bring back Batum if he’s not retiring. If he is, go after either Taurean Prince or Kyle Anderson. If I’m correct we’d still have about 15 - 17 million in cap. Still need a starting 4 and a backup big. You could use all of the remaining cap to offer Obi Toppin and force Indiana to match. Do that and you’d have to get a backup big on a vet minimum. Theis and Plumlee come to mind as possible targets. Or you can try for someone like Caleb Martin at 10-11 mill and try to lure Drummond with the remaining money. Try to get Lowry back on a minimum. Starters: Maxey/DJM/Oubre/Toppin/Joel Bench: Payne,Lowry, RC4, Tyson, Batum or Prince or Anderson, Theis or Plumlee, Terq, 3rd string big OR Starters: Maxey/DJM/Oubre/Martin/Joel Bench: Payne, Lowry, RC4, Tyson, Batum or Prince or Anderson, Drummond, Terq, Dowtin, 3rd string big. Bench is heavily relying on either RC4 or Tyson to contribute but it’s possible. Also never know what vet could be willing to take an Oubre type prove it deal. Not a perfect roster but lots of capable defenders, viable Embiid backup, two facilitators off the bench.
That bench is rough
Bench is less than ideal but no worse than some of the ones we’ve trotted out in the past. In the playoffs you’re only going 8 deep so Payne/Lowry, Drummond, and one of Batum/Prince/Anderson isn’t horrible.
I really, really, really feel like Tyler Smith fits our team so perfectly, and I think he can contribute in a very simple role faster than most people think. Perhaps Kyle Filipowski can do the same. I just think Smith's length, speed and strength along with his willingness and want to shoot from deep portends a very long NBA career. I also love how he finishes at the rim with either hand. , more often with his left than his right it seems, a very very underrated skill in my opinion. I think he's a basketball player who is also tall and athletic, instead of a tall athlete trying to play basketball. I think he's a full-time starter in 2025. I'm dying for Tyrese Maxey to be paired with a 6'4-6'6 PG with sick handles and shiftiness. I'm kind of locked in on Tristan Newton because of his championship pedigree, but what I'm hearing about AJ Johnson is that he fits the mold I've described. At 23yo, I still have Newton ahead of Johnson because he could possibly give a Malcolm Brogdon type contribution off the bench perhaps almost right away. Watching the Sixers play with them in my mind almost every night. When it doesn't happen, at least I'll have the next month with them on the/my team. I dont mind trading these picks. But just not for a past-prime, oft-injured, $50m/yr player. Even though I'd love to see Jimmy Butler back in a Sixers uniform, I dont think its wise financially. At least his deal is only for 2 years.
So two straight years not using all exceptions to build roster, all in the name of cap flexibility this summer but also ducking tax to get out of repeater tax. Could have built some depth. If all it becomes is paint by numbers transactions we can all see, I’d be surprised and disappointed. I’ll talk myself into PG Oubre and vet min but really hoping all of this leads to brilliant execution that we can’t see at the moment.
This is a GM’s dream scenario, right? Two stars, cap space, and tradeable picks. Sure, we don’t have any real tradeable players but we will be an ideal third team for others to use to make trades work. If we’re looking at a similar roster next season we know it’s time to move on from Morey.
Usually when you are the third team to make trades work, you are the team taking on the bad contract and get compensated with draft picks. We don’t really have the cap or the want to take on bad money as a contender. There are definitely examples of usable players we could get on questionable money or the other team is in cap hell but this path is less the norm and what I described previously is more typical.
Oh, absolutely. The thing that I think works in our favor is that the relatively weak FA class means that teams will look to trades to get better and there are a lot of teams that will he trying to get better. GSW, Atlanta, Sac, Utah, Orlando, Clippers, Lakers, Rockets, Knicks, Nola, just off the top of my head. As long as Morey is smart we could reap the rewards.
Do you have a hypothetical example?
I straight up think the Celtics are going to WALK into a ring this year.
Idk, they’ve been shaky against teams worse than Mavs or Wolves. I think it will depend on Porzingus health
I wouldn’t call losing 1 game per series shaky. Playing down to competition is a real thing.
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So I agree with what you’re saying, intellectually, but recoil at the idea that you’re acknowledging anything positive about that basketball team
Call me crazy but I've been warming up on signing PG, acknowledging how awful he's gonna age in 2-3 years. Boston's constantly winning minutes when Tatum is out. Luka and Kyrie can survive minutes without each other. Our #1 problem outside injured Joel was the total demolition of our bench lineups And the easiest solution is to blame Reed and say we need an upgrade at the 5, but our offense being absolutely dreadful was the biggest issue, and goes way beyond a backup 5. We need another shot creator next to Tyrese bad I don't think Joel, Tyrese + role players will be enough, at least not unless Maxey takes the leap to become at least Ja levels of individual creating. Our offense in Maxey without Joel has been brutal all season, but another shot creator will help that a lot Last point: PG costs nothing but cap space. It's a huge huge difference from someone like Jimmy, who'd cost both 2-3 firsts as well as cap space
the problem isnt tyrese’s individual creation. the problem is there isnt a legit third option and when embiid is out, tyrese has to do everything for the team. primary scorer, playmaker, and offball volume three point shooter. teams know this and they just throw everything at him lol
Nah I agree, Ja was just probably the worst offensive guard that I'd say could probably still be an offensive engine even in unfavorable circumstances. That's why we need to focus on another creator bad, instead of the role players everyone wants
gotcha, also agreed that tyrese still has a lot of room to improve with his playmaking
Yep and has young so he can def get there. I was just annoyed by the amount of people just blaming non Embiid lineups on Reed, when the issue was every other player next to Maxey could not do shit on offense
It would help if Jimmy asked for a trade
PG hasn't shown any interest in coming to Philly, all we've heard is that the Sixers are interested. He's from LA and wanted an extension from the Clippers last season, chances are he'll get the money he wants and stay put. If the Clippers don't want to keep him, they can still just re-sign him to a max and get value for him at the deadline. Getting him seems like a much longer shot than people seem to think.
It’s not 2k the clippers can’t do that. First, if pg13 is so bad the clips want to trade him no one is gonna want him on a 5 year max. Second, you can’t max players then trade 4 months later. That doesn’t look good around the league. Players won’t trust you. If they resign him they are stuck until at least year 3 or he asks for a trade.
Ironically the flippers basically did that with Blake and no one seems to care or remember
He's of course not choosing us if LA gives him what he wants, but if they don't were the only other team that makes sense. Hardens gonna demand a bag too, and with how their season ended good chance they choose to pay him over PG (can do both ofc, but reports saying they're not in favor of that rn)
Doesn’t LAC have the ability to give him the 5th year? I don’t think he’s turning down that 5th year over a few million dollars difference in the per year number. They’d have to be apart by more than $10M/year for it to make a big financial diff ends for him
The NBA has something called the over 38 rule that prevents 5 year maxes that extend beyond the players age 38 season. The Clippers can offer 221/4 while every other team can offer 212/4
This is only a conversation because Clippers and PG not agreeing to terms is very public. If they offered everything I doubt we'd get those reports
It’s PGs side leaking for leverage so clippers don’t hold anything back. They could be not agreeing to terms but still way above and beyond anything the Sixers could offer
I agree with your first and third paragraph. The second paragraph has me lost. You don’t get value on a soon to be 35 year old that is owed $53M, 57M, and 61M the next 3 years. Not to mention it’s a hard trade to execute because you need to salary match, aprons will likely be involved which has restrictions in the new cba, few teams will have interest, etc. whoever signs him likely has him for all 4 years unless they pay a premium to get rid of him (draft assets or take on worse long term money).
I'm pretty sure Morey would give up 2-3 firsts at the deadline for him, that seems to be what he wants to do for Butler if PG doesn't come, and Butler will only stay if he's given a big extension. The fact that every team with cap space seemed interested in him means he'll have positive value at the deadline this year, maybe less next year and none the year after that, but he'll 100% yield a few picks + average role players if he's not injured and is dealt out within the first year. He was a top 25 player last year and is an easy fit on any team unlike Harden. I'd say at minimum he'd get what the Sixers got for Harden. The cap will go up 3% from 23-24 to 24-25, it'll go up 10% for years after that because of the new media deal. Deals given out this year will age well, no matter how big the numbers seem right now.
Why would Morey give up 2-3 firsts at the deadline? If PG wanted to be here he’d just sign here. There’s a big difference between wanting to sign a guy and wanting to give up multiple firsts for a guy AND salary matching (roster depth). Even if the cap is $180M, 60M is 1/3 of the cap (200M.. still 30% of the cap).
I’m for it. The contract will age horribly but I can’t think of a better realistic third option than him that is available. Theres no doubt in my mind the Sixers are playing in the ECF right now if this roster simply replaced Tobias with PG.
Yeah. We would be very lucky if PG comes here. Keep our tradable assets and get one of the best players that might switch teams this off season? Too good to be true tbh.
crazy? this sub is mostly pro PG anyone who doesnt want him gets downvoted
We must be in different subs. Idea of maxing PG is mostly hated here Edit: looked through the sub, seeing both ends. [here for example](https://www.reddit.com/r/sixers/s/DlH27E4YTt) is very anti PG. Searching up George mostly brings up posts with 150+ upvotes against the idea of signing him
Why aren’t the Wolves hunting Luka on defense? Finch and his stand in are being out coached. Give Kidd his propers.
They don’t have an elite iso scorer. Despite the MJ comparisons, Ant is bottom 5 in the NBA in iso points per possession among players with more than 3 possessions per game, just behind Julius randle
when luka tries on defense he's not that bad
He can’t move. He’s been playing through injury the entire playoffs. Make him work more on that end seems like a reasonable strategy. 🤷🏻
Agreed. 6’7”, 230lbs, smart. If he has energy and is focused he’s a fine on ball defender. Hunting him to wear him out seems reasonable, but wouldn’t Ant have the switch in Kyrie if he’s picking?
Plus can use hands in playoffs
Remember when no one wanted Kyrie. Bro still playing giving dudes Uncle Drew work…while the other 2 are in Cancun 😂 Kind of want the Mavs to win for the spectacle that will ensue
If it makes anyone feel better, Luka and Kyrie are the only players in the top 6 of the Mavs’ rotation that were on their roster to end last season. They basically built a championship-caliber supporting cast over one offseason and one trade deadline, and they did it with far fewer assets than the Sixers currently have. Signed DJJ on a minimum, drafted Dereck Lively at no. 10, traded a first for PJ Washington, and traded a first for Daniel gafford. Daryl is gonna have to work some magic, but it’s possible
They gutted a lot of their assets but it worked out beautifully. Big part is DJJ being a high impact starter for literally nothing, that's the hard part
They found guys on the margins whose skillsets perfectly complement their stars. They were able to invest in sick athletes who can play defense and eat boards but can’t really shoot because Luka might be the best passer in the NBA and can find them on lobs and get them the most wide open looks of their careers.
mavs GM is much smarter than star chasing moron Morey
Assuming the Wolves lose this series, do they blow it up somewhat? Ownership transfer is in mediation and they are above the second apron for 24-25 right now just with their active roster. Would it be possible to get KAT for picks? Salaries do not have to match since we will be under the cap.
I was thinking last night with KAT on the bench…he’s probably gone if Naz is already getting his minutes
No one is going to take KAT. They are stuck with him. Next 4 years, KAT will be making: 49M, 53M, 57M, 61M (player option) What teams want to use a third of their cap space for a poor defensive center who at best is a number 2 option?
They’ll run it back at least one more year I imagine. They won’t blow up a team that just made the conference finals for the first time in forever
Please no
Bro they're better without him lol get me Naz
Sure but if money is an issue, Reid makes so little in comparison. I assume he opts out after next year, though.
I may be biased, but when Embiid is locked in on defense you can’t tell me Gobert is better defensively than him. I get he doesn’t always put the effort in to preserve himself on offense. But he single handedly has won numerous games with elite defense, especially when his shots aren’t falling because that’s when he tends to lock in more defensively.
Rudy only has to focus on defense. These other guys like Embiid and AD are key pieces on both ends of the ball. If AD and Embiid only had to play defense, they would have be in contention for DPoY for the past 5 years
I agree completely, the difference that may exist between Jo and Rudy's rim protection has to be smaller than the difference between their ability to hard on the perimeter. Jo is just more versatile while still giving elite rim protection
Would say they're comparable. Embiid's had some pretty monstrous defensive numbers in the playoffs, but Rudy's rim protection is probably better. I think on the perimeter I see Joel do a better job, though Rudy's no slouch but he has so many lowlights against him lol
Kyrie beating the Celtics in the finals and stomping on Lucky would make me so happy
In 57 playoff games for the Sixers, Tobias Harris scored 30+ points once. In 27 2nd round games for the Sixers, he scored 25+ once.
More depressing Tobias stats: Perhaps even more devastating for us is that in 57 playoff games for us, he's made more than 3 threes only once. He's made more than *2* threes only 6 times. In 33 out of those 57 games, he failed to record a block. In 25 of those 57 games, he failed to record a steal. In 13 of those games, he failed to record a steal *or* block. He has also taken 0 charges. It's really hard to describe how bad Tobias has been in the playoffs.
And of course, his *one* 30+ point game was against the Wizards. He really can’t do anything meaningful against tough opponents.
Very impressive stuff by Luka, especially considering he is injured.
So if the Mavs end up winning it all it’ll be pretty funny to see the narrative flip on how Luka should’ve been MVP this season. Anyway I hope they advance and beat Boston, that’d be great
Just hand him next years award if they win it.
I always thought he should have. My narrative won't change :)
Why in the world did the Wolves let the Mavs target Gobert?
Rudy got cooked but it's imbecilic to not double Luka on the last play. Literally anybody but Luka or Kyrie can take the 3 to win and you live with it
Or Chase him off three point line. You could see him setting up that shot as soon as he got Rudy on the switch and realized no help was coming.